It took me a week to finally check out the first part of Ravi's last trip as a 1N2D Season 4 member. Undoubtedly, Ravi is one of my favorites in terms of being the maknae or the youngest.
Of course, hardcore 1N2D fans such as myself would vote Lee Seung Gi as the best with Jung Joon Young as a far second. However, I am going to place Ravi above Jung Young because for starters, he never almost destroyed KBS' top-rated program with his off-show crimes... and Ravi is kind of a mix of mischievous, dumbass, and likable.
The mere fact that he's exiting the show to start his military obligations is good PR for the program. The last time the show had this was when Kim Jong Min made a vow to return to the show after his military obligations were done. Sure, Jong Min struggled like hell because he returned to a show that has its strongest lineup.
Actually, it would take a season for him to perfect his cheerful fool persona.
Aside from Ravi, longtime producer Bang is going to leave the show to pursue other interests. I think she'll also take a couple of her staff members. Anyway, as a token of appreciation, she rented a coffee truck littered with doughnuts. When they were about to take a picture, Ravi's eyes began to ball out. Soon, the members began to cry as well. Even Youn Jung Hoon is crying, and he's a pretty tough nut to deal with.
And then here comes Jong Min to ruin things.
Kim Jong Min would again ruin the mood a couple of hours later when they headed to their base camp. Dindin was crying when they were resting when all of a sudden, he lets off a loud fart.
Now I am not going to go Sigmund Freud on Kim Jong Min but it has been a long while since he had a 1N2D castmate leave the show for the betterment of their career. Kim Joo Hyuk is probably the last castmate to leave the show on his own terms. Season 3 ended with a scandal that prompted Defconn and Yoon Si Yoon to leave the show without a heads up.
Basically, Kim Jong Min has become a watcher as he saw cast member after cast member leaves the show in nearly one and a half decades of existence. From being stable support to Kang Ho Dong to his current leader-mentor (?) state, I guess it's interesting to see how Jong Min reacts to the departure in the second part of the show... that I have been delaying also because it's not cool to see old men cry.